*3.2. Coupling and Coordination for PLES Suitability Analysis in Ningbo*

Figure 2 shows the suitability evaluation results of PLES in Ningbo. From 2010 to 2018, the areas of lowest and lower suitability of ecological space in Ningbo increased, while areas of general, higher, and highest suitability decreased, indicating that urban expansion seriously affected the ecological suitability of land and reduced its ecological value. The lowest-suitability areas were sporadically distributed in the two years and were mainly in the northern part of Ningbo in 2010. However, in 2018, lowest-suitability areas both spread to the southern part and greatly increased in the northern part, even showing a trend of aggregation. This was mainly due to the acceleration of the urbanization process and the continuous expansion of living space. Increasing amounts of ecological land with flat terrain suitable for urban construction and expansion were used for urban construction. Lower suitability areas also gradually expanded from the north to the south, and the northern area continuously expanded. From 2010 to 2018, lowest, general, and higher suitability areas of living space in Ningbo decreased, while lower and highest suitability areas increased, indicating that higher and general suitability areas were increasingly developed into urban construction areas. With the expansion of urban areas, many lowest-suitability areas were affected by the surrounding cities. Their infrastructure conditions were gradually optimized, and population density gradually increased, making development suitability also gradually increase. From the perspective of space, lowest suitability areas were mainly distributed in the western and northern parts of Ningbo, while highest suitability areas were mainly distributed in urban built-up areas and their surroundings. These areas are densely populated with a long history of development and strong infrastructure conditions to assist in daily life, which are suitable for maintaining the development of living space. Lowest suitability PS areas in Ningbo were mainly distributed in woodland and rangeland in the central and southern parts of Ningbo. These areas are generally at higher elevations, with higher slopes, inconvenient transportation, and high costs for industrial and agricultural production. Higher suitability areas and highest suitability areas of PS were mainly distributed in the northern part of Ningbo, and distribution was similar to that in higher and highest suitability LS areas. Higher suitability areas were mainly distributed in arable land, with a certain basis for agricultural production and development. Highest suitability areas significantly increased from 2010 to

2018, mainly distributed in the urban areas of Ningbo, with dense population, a high land use degree, excellent infrastructure conditions, and a long-term basis for industrial and service production.

**Figure 2.** Suitability evaluation of PLES in Ningbo for (**a**) production space, (**b**) living space, and (**c**) ecological space in 2010; and (**d**) production space, (**e**) living space, and (**f**) ecological space in 2018.

Figure 3 shows the results of the coupling coordination degree of PLES suitability in Ningbo. From 2010 to 2018, the uncoordinated areas of PLES in Ningbo remained basically unchanged with small increases. However, near-uncoordinated areas increased by 75.82%. Highest coordinated areas had little change, increasing by only 4.56%. To be specific, the large increase in near-uncoordinated areas indicates that the development of Ningbo in recent years developed PLES towards the uncoordinated direction. From the perspective of space, uncoordinated and near-uncoordinated areas are mainly distributed in the south and west of Ningbo. Those areas are mainly woodland and rangeland. Terrain conditions make it difficult to develop and are merely suitable for maintaining its ecological value, which gradually leads to development conditions between ecological and production–living space being uncoordinated. Higher and highest coordinated areas are mainly located in the south of Ningbo. These are mainly distributed in urban areas, agricultural production space, and their surroundings. These areas have both the local basis for the development of production and living spaces and a higher ability for ecological function development because of their natural geographical factors. The suitability development of PLES in these areas is coordinated.

#### *3.3. Sustainable Development Evaluation of PLES on Administration-Cell Scale in Ningbo*

Figure 4 shows the result of the sustainable development evaluation of PLES on the administration-cell scale in Ningbo for 2010 and 2018. Results showed that the state of sustainable development evaluation of PLES in the districts of Jiangbei and Fenghua were uncoordinated, and other counties and districts in Ningbo were near-uncoordinated in 2010. Jiangbei is located in the central urban area of Ningbo, and there, the development of secondary industries promoted economic growth but inhibited the coordinated develop-

ment of LS and ES. Thus, the development level of PS in Jiangbei was the highest, followed by ES, and the development level of LS was the lowest in 2010. Fenghua is located in the western part of Ningbo; the basic geographical conditions of high altitude and high slope were the main factors restricting the development of LS in this area. Fenghua had the highest development level for ES, PS was second, and the development level of LS was the lowest in 2010. In 2018, the state of sustainable development evaluation of PLES of all counties and districts in Ningbo was higher than that in 2010, and all counties and districts in Ningbo were in a near-uncoordinated state. Among them, Jiangbei and Fenghua paid more attention to the coordinated development of PLES after 2010, the coordination index increased by 0.15 and 0.11, respectively, from 2010 to 2018, and the improvement range of coordination index in other counties and districts was less than 0.10. Although the state of sustainable development evaluation in Ninghai and Xiangshan was higher than that in other regions in 2010, due to the lack of coordinated development of PLES and the influence of geographical conditions, the gap between the development levels of PS, LS, and ES gradually widened, the coordination index only increased by 0.04 and 0.02 from 2010 to 2018, respectively, and their state of sustainable development evaluation of PLES was the lowest in Ningbo.

**Figure 3.** Coupling coordination degree of PLES suitability in Ningbo for (**a**) 2010 and (**b**) 2018.

**Figure 4.** Sustainable development evaluation of PLES in Ningbo for (**a**) 2010 and (**b**) 2018.
